The road was blocked now with ambling pedestrians, so Thomas pulled over to the kerb and climbed out. Locking the door, he started to jog down the street. The fire was near his house – it had to be given the direction of the smoke and the concentration of people at the far end of the road. His jog now turned into a full-on sprint, as he barged startled onlookers out of his path.
Breaking through the throng, he found himself at the bottom of his drive. The sight that met him took his breath away and he suddenly ground to a halt. His entire house was ablaze, huge flames issuing from every window. It wasn’t a fire, it was an inferno.
He found himself moving forward and turned to find his neighbour gripping one of his arms, guiding him gently towards the house. The expression on her face was hideous – a toxic mixture of horror and pity – and it chilled him to the bone. Why was she looking at him like that?
Then Thomas saw him. His boy – his beloved son Luke – lying on the grass in the front garden. Shaded by the mulberry bush, he lay with his head on the lap of another neighbour, who was talking to him earnestly. It would have been a touching sight, where it not for the crazy angles of Luke’s legs, bent nastily back on themselves, and the blood that clung to his face and hands.
‘The ambulance is on its way. He’s going to be ok.’
Thomas didn’t know whether his neighbour was lying or not, but he wanted to believe her. He didn’t care what injuries his son had sustained as long as he lived.
‘It’s ok, mate, Dad’s here now,’ he said as he knelt down next to his son.
The ground around Luke was covered with leaves and branches from the mulberry bush and in an instant Thomas realized that his son must have jumped. He must have leapt from the house and landed in the bush. It probably broke his fall – may even have saved his life – but why was he jumping at all? Why hadn’t he just run out the front door?
‘Where’s Mum? And Alice? Luke, where are they, mate?’
For a moment, Luke said nothing, the agony racking his body seeming to rob him of the ability to speak.
‘Has anyone seen them?’ Thomas cried out, panic rendering his voice high and harsh. ‘Where the hell are they?’
He looked back at his son, who seemed to be trying to raise himself, in spite of his injuries.
‘What is it, Luke?’
Thomas knelt in closer, his ear brushing his son’s mouth. Luke struggled for breath, then through gritted teeth finally managed to whisper:
